Mustangs Alum Andrew Alvarez Set for MLB Call-Up and Monday Debut
8/31/2025 4:00:00 PM | Baseball
Andrew Alvarez will be celebrating Labor Day in a Major League uniform.
Washington Nationals interim manager Miguel Cairo told reporters Sunday that the former Cal Poly southpaw’s contract was selected from the Rochester Red Wings and that Alvarez would start on the mound Monday against the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park.
The move won’t be official until Monday, and the Nationals must make a corresponding move with their 40-man roster to make room for Alvarez, who would replace MacKenzie Gore in the pitching rotation. Gore was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday, retroactive to August 27, with left shoulder inflammation. Alvarez would also be filling one of two allotted September call-up slots for the Nationals.
Alvarez, who pitched for the Mustangs from 2018-21 and was drafted by the Nationals in the 12th round of the 2021 MLB Draft, has compiled a 7-14 record and 4.28 ERA over 201 2/3 innings for the Triple-A Red Wings the last two summers.
“He’s been one of the most consistent pitchers in Triple-A,” Cairo said. “He throws strikes, and that’s something I like. We want someone who can throw strikes. When you’ve got someone who can throw strikes and keep us in the game, that will be awesome.”
In five minor league seasons, Alvarez has a 23-30 overall record, 3.84 ERA, two saves, and 459 strikeouts over 477 2/3 innings. He has played for the Florida Complex League Nationals (Rookie, 2021), Fredericksburg Nationals (Single-A, 2021-22), Wilmington Blue Rocks (High-A, 2022-23), Harrisburg Senators (Double-A, 2023-24), and Rochester Red Wings (Triple-A, 2024-25).
Alvarez was named the organization’s Pitcher of the Year in 2023 after posting a 2.99 ERA and 1.168 WHIP for Wilmington and Harrisburg.
The 26-year-old graduate of Los Alamitos High School was 10-8 with a 4.43 ERA in his four Cal Poly seasons, striking out 147 batters over 170 2/3 innings. He made 10 starts and 39 relief appearances in his first three Mustang campaigns before becoming the Sunday starter in 2021, going 7-3 with a 4.08 ERA.
Alvarez’s lone complete game at Cal Poly was in his senior season when he tossed a four-hitter with six strikeouts in his penultimate start of the year, a 5-1 Mustang victory at UC Davis.
Alvarez will be the 25th former Mustang to play in the Major Leagues and the 16th in Larry Lee’s 23 seasons as head coach at Cal Poly. Most recently, Larry’s son, Brooks, and Drew Thorpe made their Major League debuts in 2024.
Alvarez opened the 2025 season with an 0-7 record for a Rochester team that had difficulty holding onto late leads. The lefty has won his last three decisions, however, improving to 3-7 with a 4.10 ERA, and is 2-0 with a 2.96 ERA in five August starts.
Alvarez has been particularly effective since the All-Star break, delivering quality starts in three of seven outings while accruing a 2.97 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and a 44:15 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 36.1 innings.
This summer, Alvarez has struck out 114 batters with 52 walks over 123 innings in 25 starts. Batters are hitting .246 against him, and he has a 1.35 WHIP. Alvarez started his pro career as a reliever, becoming a full-time starter for the first time in 2023.
In his last start Monday at Jacksonville, Alvarez gave up two runs and three hits over six innings in an 8-5 victory. He has struck out at least five batters in each of his last eight starts and fanned a season-high eight Syracuse hitters on August 14.
Last year, Alvarez struck out a Triple-A-high 10 versus the Iowa Cubs on Sept. 22, his last start of 2024. This season, he pitched in the Nationals’ MLB Spring Breakout game against the Houston Astros on March 14 at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Florida, giving up one run and three hits over three innings. The game ended in a 6-6 tie.
According to mlbtraderumors.com, Alvarez is not ranked in the Nationals’ top 30 prospects by either MLB Pipeline or Baseball America, “further emphasizing his somewhat limited upside. That shouldn’t be taken to mean he can’t be a useful piece at the big league level, however.
“He’s generated a solid 50.9 percent ground ball rate at Triple-A this year, and if he can continue to keep the ball on the ground without much regression in his K-BB percentage ratio, it’s easy to imagine him being a valuable up-and-down swing man or perhaps a number five starter for the Nationals going forward.”
Nats Report first reported the potential move Saturday.
